By now, most of you are probably familiar with the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. It’s by far the best time of the year to get sale prices on BRAND NEW fall items and it starts in less than two weeks! In case you’re interested or need more info about how the sale works, I wrote an in-depth post last year and you can read it here. This year, the sale opens to Nordstrom cardholders on Thursday, July 12th and opens to the public on Thursday, July 19th. If you want info on how to obtain a store card in order to shop early, visit this page to apply. In today’s post I thought I’d share my own personal game plan for shopping the sale before it starts and while it’s going on—I hope you’ll find my tips helpful!
How To Shop the Nordstrom Sale
Before the Sale
Window shop
This is the most fun part! It feels like Christmas to me when the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Preview catalog comes out. I look at what’s available and how they mix everything together for different looks throughout the catalog—it gets me inspired for the season ahead.
Make a wish list
Once I browse through the catalog a few times, I’ll start my wish list. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved making lists, so I keep it old school and write everything down in a notebook (for some reason it’s so much more satisfying to me!) I think about what I need/want for the new season that I could get a great deal on so I’m not simply shopping aimlessly. For instance, I love cashmere but don’t want to spend full price on it, so I always look for a new cardigan or wrap during the Nordstrom Sale.
Prioritize according to budget
Once I have my wish list, I’ll start prioritizing items according to my budget. If something I really love looks like a piece that will sell out quickly, I make sure it’s at the top of my list to purchase. I’ll also weed out the items I can live without (or can wait to purchase later in the sale if I change my mind). I like to leave some extra in my budget for new items I may find once the sale opens. ** Pro tip: This is also when I’ll plan outfits or consider how often I’d wear something or what I’d pair with it to avoid buyers’ regret.
During the Sale
Shop early to avoid sell outs
Once the day of the sale arrives, I set my alarm to shop. There’s always a huge rush on the first day of the sale and the Nordstrom site can crash at times due to overwhelming amounts of traffic, so I recommend shopping A.S.A.P. This is when living overseas is nice because while everyone in the States is getting up at the crack of dawn to shop, the sale starts during the afternoon for me!
Buy multiple sizes
Since items can sell out quickly, I tend to buy multiple sizes for items I’m unsure about in regards to fit. There’s nothing worse than missing out on something because the size I need is no longer available! Nordstrom always offers free shipping and returns so it’s easy to send back whatever doesn’t work.
Browse entire sale
Once I’ve purchased my must-haves, I’ll take time to comb through the entire sale on Nordstrom’s website. The Anniversary preview catalog is just that—a preview—there’s so much more to shop once the sale begins! Since there’s bound to be other things that will catch my eye once the sale officially starts, I reserve some of my budget for those.
On My Wish List
I made a few outfit mock-ups with items from my sale wish list (this is what I’m talking about when I plan outfits in my head!) All of these will be available to purchase once the sale begins—see below for items/prices and click here to see the preview catalog.
Trouvé blazer $99.90 ($149.00 after sale)
Levi’s crop straight jeans $64.90 ($98.00 after sale)
Vince ‘Alora’ mule $194.90 ($295.00 after sale)
ASTR floral midi dress $52.90 ($79.00 after sale)
B.P. ‘Tanya’ mule $49.90 ($79.95 after sale)
Halogen blouson sleeve cashmere cardigan $199.90 ($299.00 after sale)
